Toronto is a haven of cultural diversity, offering the chance to experience nearly every cuisine on the planet in one city. When it comes to Halal dining, Toronto delivers a vibrant range of flavours that reflect the very communities that make the city so special. From African to Mediterranean to South Asian and beyond, the options are endless and sure to impress. Whether you’re craving traditional curries, one-of-a-kind fusion dishes, or simply a great kebab, this list highlights some of the best Halal food spots across town.
Table of Contents: The Best Halal Restaurants in Toronto
- Salad King – famous for their secret menu
- Ozzy’s Burgers – Turkish burgers in Kensington Market
- Selam Restaurant & Lounge – TripAdvisor’s top African restaurant
- Karahi Boys – traditional Pakistani BBQ
- Chef Harwash – authentic Damascene street food
- Byblos – inspired Eastern Mediterranean cuisine
- Tut’s Egyptian Street Food – Egyptian sandwich platters
Salad King
Famous for their secret menu
224 Queen St W | saladking.com
One of the most popular stops featured on our Must-Do Toronto Food Tour, Salad King is an amazing Thai restaurant that has been serving Torontonians for over 40 years. Their menu can be adjusted to not just meet halal needs, but also vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan requirements as well, so that everyone is able to enjoy their fabulous food. Don’t miss the chance to order their most popular dish off their secret menu, the Islamic Noodles from their not-so-secret menu. This dish is a local favourite, combining the best of Bangkok Stir Fry and Panang Curry.
Local tip: Their Queen St location has some exclusive menu items only available there, such as their Thai Lettuce Wraps or a soft serve cone topped with caramel and peanuts.
Ozzy’s Burgers
Turkish burgers in Kensington Market
66 Nassau St | ozzysburgerstoronto.shop
Nestled in the heart of Kensington Market, Ozzy’s Burgers is the go-to burger joint, serving a ton of rockin’ flavours. This musically-inspired Turkish burger bar is fully halal, right down to the beef bacon that is featured on a number of their burgers. One of the most popular burgers on their menu is the Jr. Mustang Sally, a juicy cheese burger stacked with layers of onion rings, smoked beef bacon, and caramelized onions, and topped with the house signature sauce.
Local tip: Pair your burger with the cajun fries, which comes with a tub of aioli. While it’s intended for you to dip your fries into it, nothing’s stopping you from giving the burger some of that extra sauce.
Selam Restaurant & Lounge
TripAdvisor’s top African restaurant
812 Bloor St W | selamrestaurant.ca
Say hello to Selam, an Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant located up by Christie Pits that is recognized as one of the best African restaurants in all of Toronto. Their menu is designed for sharing traditional African flavours as a group, with a variety of differently customizable platters. Of special note is the signature Selam Platter, which features beef and chicken tibs alongside your choice of 3 additional vegan selections, but can be expanded to include their lamb, fish, or further vegan dishes to your order. All of these are served atop a sheet of injera, the flatbread that doubles as your eating utensil throughout the meal.
Local tip: The bigger the group, the bigger the variety of dishes you can order for your platter, but don’t forget to order a couple extra rolls of injera to go with it.
Karahi Boys
Traditional Pakistani BBQ
741 Queen St W | karahiboys.com
Karahi Boys was first started by its titular duo in Mississauga back in 2018, and was such a huge hit that they made their way over to Downtown Toronto. Karahi is a style of cooking named after the deep circular wok that the food is made in, found in many Pakistani restaurants all over the world. Among the options of their fully halal menu, you can find a number of chicken and paneer Karahi, but special mention goes to the Namak Mandi Goat Karahi. This tomato and yogurt based dish is one of the few goat options on the menu, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming the most popular as it carefully balances that perfect level of spice and flavour.
Local tip: Come in early on a Saturday or Sunday, and you can order off their weekend-exclusive Brunch menu until 1:30. There are few better ways to start the morning than with a spiced scrambled omelet and Karak Chai.
Chef Harwash
Authentic Damascene street food
707 Dundas St W | chefharwash.com
Located across from Toronto Western Hospital is an unassuming shipping container market known as the Market 707, one of the best places to get street food in all of Toronto. Among the many options, it’s hard to pick one, but Chef Harwash’s Syrian cuisine is one choice that doesn’t disappoint. The two brothers who run this humble little stand offer a variety of classic street foods such as chicken shawarma and beef kebab, but the Toshka needs special mention. This is a Middle-Eastern Quesadilla, with a mix of cheese, soujeck, and homemade hot and pomegranate sauce stuffed between two crispy flatbreads, making for a great lunch.
Local tip: Despite being an outdoor food stand, there is a reason to come in the winter too. This dessert drink is served hot, perfect to warm you up on a nice snowy day after enjoying a kebab.
Byblos
Inspired Eastern Mediterranean cuisine
11 Duncan St | byblosdowntown.com
Byblos is an upscale restaurant just a short walk from St. Andrew Station that has crafted a cuisine that showcases the regional flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean coast as refined through the generations, yet fused with more modern techniques. While their seaside influences lead to a number of amazing fish options across the menu, they have a variety of equally delicious halal meat options as well, such as the short rib kebab. This shareable features sliced chemen-spiced short rib, served alongside truffle yogurt and topped with a mint and pine nuts.
Local tip: The menu doesn’t have entrées, but sharables. Order multiple dishes on the menu for the whole table and taste all the different treats Byblos has to offer!
Tut’s Egyptian Street Food
Egyptian sandwich platters
567 King St W | tutsrestaurant.ca
Tut’s got their start right here on King and Portland in 2020 before exploding across the city as the premier stop for authentic Egyptian sandwiches with a modern twist. Each sandwich is served on their fino buns, baked fresh in-house daily, and are designed to be mixed-and-matched with each other. Order a duo or trio of sandwiches, such as the fried shrimp, the Alexandrian fried falafel (made with fava beans instead of chick peas) or the Egyptian Beef Shawarma.
Local tip: Commuting? In the lower concourse of Union Station just below the Go Train terminal, Tut’s opened another location, making for a great place to grab a bite as you wait for your train home.
Experience Toronto’s food scene with Tasty Tours
If you are looking to get out and explore more of Toronto’s rich, diverse culture, join us on one of our Toronto food tours. You can hit up our Must-Do Toronto Food Tour featuring Salad King and its famous Islamic Noodles. All of our tours can be made halal as well, making sure that everyone can enjoy every stop we visit.
